by L. P. Maxa
“That’s all she needs, love. For someone to put in the effort to be there for her, to make her happy, make her safe.” When he held his arm out, I snuggled into his side. “She’s opening up to you, she’s talking more. Laughing. This morning she didn’t know you either.”
He ran his fingers up and down my arm. It felt good. “Thank you for coming, B. Thank you so fudging much.”
I hid my face in his shirt to quiet my laughter. Inhaling his scent. He smelled damn good. “You are going to be a great father, Jacks.” I knew who Jacks was; I knew his heart. And whether Landry was his, biologically or not, he’d never turn her away. He’d spend the rest of his life making sure that girl was well taken care of. We sat together, in comfortable silence, until he yawned. I took that as my cue. “Where is my room?”
“You don’t have one.”
“Oh, uh, okay. I’ll just bunk with Dylan, and Smith can sleep on the couch or something.”
I made a move to stand and Jacks tightened his arms around me. “Number one, Smith would go outside and build a room onto this house for you before he’d sleep anywhere but next to your sister. And two? I’m kidding, your room is right next to mine; we share a bathroom. I let Landry pick which one she wanted and she picked the room with the en suite and the giant claw-foot tub.”
I nodded. “Smart kid.”
“I don’t want to give you up yet. Let’s Netflix and chill.”
I scoffed. “Jackson Cole. I know darn well what Netflix and chill is code for. What kind of girl do you think I am?”
He spoke with his lips against the top of my head. “The kind of girl who loves campy horror movies and jammy jams.”
“You, sir, are correct.”
Landry
This bed was really soft and really big. My bed at home was small, and my mattress had some sharp parts that I had to be careful to stay away from. The elephant Jacks gave me to sleep with, Ello, he was soft too. He smelled nice, he smelled a little like Jacks. Like cologne and the stuff he put in his hair to make it look dirty. I didn’t know why he put stuff in his hair to make it look that way. All he had to do was not wash it for a while and it would look like that for free.
I could hear him and Bryan talking across the hall. He’d left my door open and she had done the same with his. I knew they were both probably worried about me. Worried that I would be scared to sleep alone in this big bed, in this big house. But I wasn’t scared to be alone, I was used to that. It was scarier to be surrounded by loud people you didn’t know. It was nice here and I liked everyone so far. I needed to be careful not to like it too much though. My mom probably lied, and Jacks probably wasn’t my dad. And when he found out, I’m sure he’d make me leave. No one wanted to raise someone else’s kid. I’d heard more than one man tell that to my mom.
I wondered if that’s why she left me. Maybe she met a man and he wanted her but he didn’t want me. I tried really hard not to cause trouble and not to get in the way. But I always ended up making people mad. Or at least it seemed like they were mad, because they were never really very nice. Not like the people here. All of Jacks’s friends were super nice and they smiled a lot and laughed a lot. They were like happy TV people. And Jacks was right, Bryan was really pretty. I’d stared at my reflection in the huge mirror in the bathroom. My hair was dark like hers and my eyes were light like hers…maybe when I grew up I’d look even more like Bryan. If I looked like her, maybe I could have a friend like Jacks too.
Chapter Seven
Jacks
Having Bryan in my arms was nice. Like really, really nice. I knew that when she left, I’d miss her. I’d miss her every day she wasn’t lying next to me. She smelled like vanilla and sugar. It was okay to think your friends smelled good, right? I mean just because she was making my mouth water and I was already dreading the day she went home didn’t mean I was going to try to bang her. Or that I was falling for her. It had just been a few weeks since I’d gotten any. Just built-up lust is all it was. We were propped up against my headboard flipping through the movies on Netflix, trying to find something to watch. “How about Halloween?”
Bryan looked up from her phone. “Which version?”
“Rob Zombie.”
“Nope. Keep scrolling.” She looked back down and resumed her texting.
“Who could you possibly be texting? I’m right here. Don’t tell me you have other friends. I won’t allow it.” I was only halfway joking.
“Shep. He keeps texting and calling, wanting to know where I am.” She shut her phone off and tossed it on my nightstand. “Stage five clinger.”
I didn’t like Shep. Well, I didn’t like the idea of Shep. And I didn’t really think B was all that into him anyway. “The Grizzly Maze?” I pressed info and we both read through the description. It sounded ridiculous. Which meant Bryan would love it.
“Perfect.”
I nodded and hit select. “So what did you tell him?”
She shrugged. “That I came to Florida to visit my sister and some friends.”
“What did Dylan mean earlier? About your relationships never lasting?”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I thought those cartwheels didn’t matter?”
“They don’t, in regards to our friendship. But I’m curious.”
She sighed. “She’s right, my relationships never seem to last. I don’t really know what happens. It’s like everything is going great and then all of a sudden I get bored and have this urge to move on. I’ve never brought a guy home to meet my parents; I’ve never said I love you… It just never ends up going anywhere.”
“Does that bother you?” I didn’t mention that I’d never done those things either. That I never even made it to actual relationship status before sending a girl packing. Comparing her to me…just didn’t seem right.
“Honestly?”
“Always.”
“Not really.”
She snuggled into my side, the conversation obviously over, with her head on my chest and her leg thrown over mine. “By all means, B, make yourself comfortable.” Bryan reminded me of Lexi in that sense. Both girls loved to touch and hug, every person near them was a body pillow.
I felt her smile against my chest. “Tell me to move and I will.”
She called my bluff. I didn’t want her to move, I loved having her pressed against me. Because she was my friend. And I, uh, liked having my friends close. I needed to calm down or I was going to end up getting a semi and with the way her leg was draped over mine? She’d feel it. We were both quiet for a while, wrapped up in the movie, which ended up being not half bad.
Luke walked past my room, then backed up and stood in my doorway, eyebrows raised in question. My arm was around her, resting on her hip, her shirt hiked up. I’m not quite sure when I started tracing little circles on her bare skin with my fingers…but I was. I used my free hand to flip him off and he walked away chuckling. It wasn’t my freaking fault. Since we moved into this house, I’d been acting like a monk. At first it was just because I was exhausted from touring for months on end. Then it was because I went out and realized this was family friendly central, and there were no good bars to pick up chicks. I kept meaning to head over to Panama or Destin one night, but I just never got around to it. And now here I was, manhandling my best friend and thinking sappy thoughts. “Hey, B?”
“Hmmm?”
“Do you think you could watch Landry for me tomorrow? I need to do some work down in the studio with the band and then I have a few errands I need to run after Landry goes to sleep.” And by errands? I meant ass.
“Sure.” She scooted closer to me. “Now stop talking and watch the movie.”
I never set out to have Bryan fall asleep wrapped in my arms. I had every intention of keeping my hands to myself and tucking her into her own bed as soon as the movie was over. But you know what they say about the best of intentions. And the worst part? I didn’t want to wake her up. I didn’t want her to go to her bed. I wanted her to stay right where she was. I wanted to breathe in h
er sweet scent until the sun came up. She was out cold, and she didn’t know I was awake. In the morning, I could act just as surprised as she did. I buried my face in her neck and closed my eyes.
***
“Just friends, my ass.” I opened one eye and saw a very annoyed-looking Dylan standing over me. I closed that eye and took inventory of my surroundings. I was under the covers and I was big spooning her little sister.
Bryan rolled over, stretching her arms over her head, and yawned. “Leave him alone, Dylan. We fell asleep watching a movie, it’s not a big deal.”
Dylan scoffed, “That’s what I told Dash the first time he caught Smith and I like this.”
I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Believe me, if something had happened between me and B last night, neither of us would be wearing clothes. And I wouldn’t have woken up with this massive er—”
Bryan cut off my words with an elbow to the ribs. “Good morning, Landry.”
She was standing in her doorway, looking into mine and clutching Ello to her chest. I smiled and crooked my finger. “Come here, sweet girl.” I patted the bed and waited until she climbed on before asking, “You ready for breakfast?”
She nodded.
“Me too. I’m starving.” I looked over at Bryan, giving her my best puppy dog eyes and pouty bottom lip.
She shook her head. “Really? I fly all this way and I have to make breakfast?” But then she got out of bed, smiling. “Landry, you like scrambled eggs?”
Landry nodded again, her face buried in Ello’s fur. She was quiet again this morning. I wondered if she’d have to warm up to me all over again, if this would happen every morning.
“I’ll meet you guys downstairs, okay?” I needed them to leave so I could put on my clothes and hide my wood. Bryan put her hand on Landry’s back and led her out of my room and down the hall.
“You like my sister.”
Oh, yeah, Dylan was still here. I threw back the covers, not giving two shits if she saw it, and grabbed my jeans off the chair I’d tossed them over last night. “Of course I like your sister. I told you, she’s my best friend.”
She shook her head. “No. You like her like her.”
I chuckled. “We in sixth grade now? Boys can’t like girls without wanting to kiss them?”
Dylan crossed her arms over her chest. “You and she have been talking since the music festival?”
I ran my hands through my hair, essentially fixing it for the day. “Yeah.”
“Every night since then?”
I let out a quick irritated sigh, throwing my hands up. “Yeah. So?”
She poked me in the chest. I fought the urge to rub the spot. She was strong for such a tiny person. “So it’s just a coincidence that you haven’t gone out partying since we’ve been here? You haven’t stayed the night out. You haven’t picked up any chicks.”
Ha. Dylan said chicks. We were so rubbing off on her. “It is, in fact, just a coincidence.” I put my hands on my hips. “Despite what you might think, I’m not a sex addict. I like to party, I like girls. But lately, I’ve just wanted to take a break. And that has nothing to do with B.” Right? It didn’t have anything to do with her. Sure I talked to her every night, sure I didn’t want to miss her call… But that’s not what kept me alone in my own bed. Right? Nah. Besides, I was going out tonight.
Dylan narrowed her eyes in that way she always did, clearly not picking up what I was putting down. “Bryan doesn’t stick around. She’s a kiss-and-run type of girl.”
“Have you met me? And we are JUST FRIENDS! I won’t be doing anything dirty with your little sister.”
She sighed, clearly irritated. “Yeah, I have met you. I spent the past few months of my life living with you. Which is why I can see that you like my sister and that you are trying your damnedest not to fall for her.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “Don’t cross that line, Jacks, because I can promise you, you won’t like what’s on the other side. Bryan has a line of broken hearts behind her.” Then she walked out.
I scrubbed my hands down my face. Everything about my life was different than it had been yesterday. I’d been terrified when I’d walked in the living room and seen Landry. I’d wanted to run. But the more time I spent with Landry, the more times I made her smile or laugh… She was so perfect; she was so good. She deserved so much better than she’d had in this life. And I wanted to give it to her. Bryan made me feel like I could too. She made me feel like I was a good man, a man who had something to offer. Granted I had no fucking clue what I was doing, and I’d probably screw up a thousand times…but I was going to do my best. And I was going to stick around. So, I was already doing better than her mom.
As far as Bryan was concerned, Dylan’s worries were wholly unnecessary. I didn’t know how many more times I would have to stress the fact that we were only friends. Only friends for that very reason: we didn’t want to hurt each other or the people around us.
Chapter Eight
Bryan
I was somewhat glad to escape Jacks’s bed. I woke up smiling, with his huge hard-on poking me in the back. I wasn’t shy, and I wasn’t some blushing virgin. But holy hell. The rumors about Jackson Cole were true. I shook my head, trying to clear the images out of my brain. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, two dozen scrambled eggs to be exact. It seemed that if someone smelled food in this house, it was game on. And these boys (plus Lexi) could eat. Landry helped me crack the eggs and she set the table again. She was such a good kid. Why anyone would want to leave her was beyond me. Why anyone would abandon their kid, good or not, was baffling. After breakfast the guys headed down to the studio to work on their new album. Dylan went to work. I didn’t know what she would do once they all moved to the compound they were building in Texas, but for now she’d kept her job as physician’s assistant at the ob/gyn office. Lexi was sitting in the recliner, flipping through a baby furniture magazine. Landry and I were on the couch, watching Animal Planet. We’d been sitting here for over an hour. There wasn’t really anything else for her to do here. She didn’t have any toys or games. No books…. “Hey, sweet girl, you want to go to a toy store?”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
I nodded. “Really. We can spend more of Jacks’s black card money.” I didn’t really figure that he would mind. He wanted to take care of her, and she needed something else to do around here besides watch documentaries.
Lexi looked over at us. “I want to get in on that.”
I clapped my hands together. “That settles it, we’re going shopping.” I made a mental note to stop by the grocery store as well; this house needed more kid-friendly food. I stood and held my hand out for Landry. “Let’s go get that card.”
Landry smiled and put her hand in mine, and the three of us girls—well, four if you counted the baby girl in Lexi’s tummy—headed to the studio. When we walked in, we were greeted with the wail of a guitar. Jacks was standing in the center of the room, his eyes closed and his fingers flying. My mouth became dry, and my heart did that little flutter thing again. Holy hell. My best friend looked hot. I’d seen him play before, in New Orleans, but damn. The way his tongue darted out to wet his lips, the way his hands on the strings seemed to mimic his hands on his cock. Not that I’d ever seen his hands on his package, but still…it was almost too much. He opened his eyes and winked when he caught me watching.
Dash held his hand out and pulled Lexi down to his lap. “What are you girls up to?”
Jacks quieted the strings and then sat his guitar on a stand, taking a few steps in our direction. It was nothing, a causal movement. But I couldn’t help but feel that there was purpose in his steps. That he was stalking toward me.
“We are going shopping.” Landry’s hand was still in mine. I gave it a little squeeze when she leaned her head against my hip. I was surprised by the gesture; it was so natural.
Jacks got down eye level with her. “You need some black card money?”
Landry nodded shyly.
I smirked. “Oh, don’t you worry, I intend to.” I held my hand out. “I need car keys.”
Jacks’s smile fell. “You want to drive the Tesla?”
“What else am I supposed to drive?” I played it nonchalant, casual. But hell fucking yeah I wanted to drive the Tesla. I had a need, a need for speed.
“It’s a really fast car, and if you aren’t used to driving it…” He was trying to think of a reason not to give me the keys.
Luke expertly twirled his drumsticks around, one in each hand. “You know, Jacks, you really need to get a more family-friendly car.”
Jacks whirled around, glaring at Luke. “You bite your tongue. The Tesla is the safest car on the market; it has all those sensors and stuff.”
I nodded, hand out. “Which is why you want us in it, right?” Thanks for the setup, Luke.
Jacks hung his head in defeat.
***
He was right; that car was FAST. Driving it was the most fun I’d ever had in a car. And I’d had plenty of fun in cars, if you catch my drift. The three of us had gone from store to store buying everything a kid could ever want or need. We got bags of books, tons of board games, coloring books, paints…you name it? We got it. And on the way home I ran into the grocery store with Landry while Lexi napped in the car. I got all her favorite foods. Which consisted of a lot of canned pasta and macaroni and cheese. Now we were back at the house, and it was just before dinner. Landry was exhausted; she and Lexi were in the living room playing some electronic version of Go Fish on Landry’s new iPad. I was making my favorite childhood meal: crunchy beef tacos.
“That smells amazing, baby doll.” Jacks came up behind me, tugging lightly on my dark hair. He seemed to like touching my hair. Not that I’d noticed or that I’d intentionally worn it down for him or anything. “Where’s Landry?”
